Ryan Newman won the pole during Thursday night's qualifying session but decided to start Sunday's race from the outside position of the front row. Under Cup series rules, the pole winner can choose to start in either the inside or outside lane.

Second-place qualifier Jeff Gordon took the pole position.

Newman and Matt Borland, crew chief for the No. 12 Dodge Charger, said they were unaware the option existed until asked about it after winning the pole.

"The bottom of [Turns] 1 and 2 is not the best place to be, especially for the start of the race," Borland said.

Last weekend, Mike Bliss made a similar choice, selecting the outside position for the Nextel Open after winning the pole. He passed off the traditional inside spot to second-place qualifier Kyle Busch.

BUSCH'S EARLY EXIT

Kurt Busch's No. 97 Ford Taurus hit the wall heading into the tricky Turn 2 in the ninth lap of the race, sending him to the garage and putting him out of contention. Busch skidded and went up into the wall, a reaction possibly caused by fluid on the track.

"It just snapped around on me real quick," Busch said. "I don't know if there was fluid on the track or not."

BY THE NUMBERS

Ken Schrader turned 50 on race day, becoming the first driver age 50-or-over to race regularly in the Cup series since Darrell Waltrip and Dave Marcis did so in 2000. Schrader's crew members took spare parts from their race shop to construct a custom-made Schwan's Racing wheelchair in honor of the milestone birthday. . . .